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Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 7:14 | Tran: 14:23 | Set: 21:31
Alt: -7.36°   Az: 57.19°   Direction: East-North-East

Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Orion, at a distance of 1,131,849,655.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 05h 16m 39s and the Declination is +13° 33’ 17” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is 27.81 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in Orion on May, 20 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in Orion on May, 20 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)
RA: 05h 15m 13s
Dec: +13° 31’ 40”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

05h 16m 39s
+13° 33’ 17”
15h 56m 07s
21h 12m 46s

J2000

05h 15m 13s
+13° 31’ 40”

Additional Information

Orion
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
27.81

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 76.4°
Max altitude: 52.1°
Azimuth: 283.6°
  • C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 1,131,849,655.0 kilometers, equivalent to 7.5659476282 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 2m 55.444s to travel from Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

1,131,849,655.0
7.5659476282
1h 2m 55.444s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Mon Nov 6 2023 at a distance of 1.184162 Astronomical Units, or 177,148,157 kilometers:

Mon Nov 6 2023
177,148,157
1.184162

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) at epoch 30 September 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460218.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.97597290
Orbit inclination i 20.42341784°
Perihelion distance q 1.06155253 AU
158,805,999 km
Aphelion distance Q 87.30138993 AU
13,060,102,069 km
Semi-major axis a 44.18147123 AU
6,609,454,034 km
Orbital period period 293.6760 years
107,265.1606 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Oct-15 12:00:52
2,460,233.0006 JD
Next perihelion transit 2317-Jun-21 15:52
2,567,498.1612 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 78.507012223681°
Longitude of the ascending node node 230.73194326925°
Mean anomaly M 359.95133350316°
Mean motion n 0.00335617°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 May 13 05h 12m 12s +13° 28’ 43” 27.75 Orion
2025 May 14 05h 12m 49s +13° 29’ 25” 27.76 Orion
2025 May 15 05h 13m 26s +13° 30’ 07” 27.76 Orion
2025 May 16 05h 14m 03s +13° 30’ 46” 27.77 Orion
2025 May 17 05h 14m 40s +13° 31’ 24” 27.78 Orion
2025 May 18 05h 15m 16s +13° 32’ 01” 27.79 Orion
2025 May 19 05h 15m 54s +13° 32’ 36” 27.80 Orion
2025 May 20 05h 16m 31s +13° 33’ 10” 27.81 Orion
2025 May 21 05h 17m 08s +13° 33’ 43” 27.82 Orion
2025 May 22 05h 17m 45s +13° 34’ 13” 27.83 Orion
2025 May 23 05h 18m 22s +13° 34’ 43” 27.84 Orion
2025 May 24 05h 19m 00s +13° 35’ 12” 27.85 Orion
2025 May 25 05h 19m 37s +13° 35’ 37” 27.86 Orion
2025 May 26 05h 20m 14s +13° 36’ 03” 27.87 Orion

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